The Nazis had some pretty wild engineering ideas, and some of them, like the jet engine, ended up being a vision of things to come. Yet others were just over-engineered, strange, and in some cases, downright creepy. This steampunkish Nazi belt buckle four-shooter is one of those things.

The whole idea was to give high-ranking Nazis a way to kill their captors should they be captured on the battlefield. The concept was said to have originated from known German inventor, Louis Marquis, who designed the contraption while he was held as a prisoner of war during WWI.

In operation, the buckle flipped open, where its four barrels would be rotated out, and each .22 cartridge would be fired using spring loaded trigger mechanisms on the opposite side from the barrels. Was it all a bit phallic? Yep.

Strange as they were, these Nazi crotch shooters were intricately built and had a high degree of craftsmanship. and some were incredibly embellished. It is said that they were ordered by Heinrich Himmler to be given to his inner circle, which makes them even creepier.

All this considered, and their rarity to begin with (ten are said to exist), these things catch a pretty hefty price from those who like having Nazi crap in their possession (also creepy), with one selling for over $20k at a recent high-profile auction.

Rogoway is a defense journalist and photographer who maintains the website Foxtrot Alpha for Jalopnik.com You can reach Tyler with story ideas or direct comments regarding this or any other defense topic via the email address Tyler@Jalopnik.com